Sunday, March 22, 2009

Remaining Holes on the Roster - Offense

Now that most of the major free agency moves appear to have been made by the Dallas Cowboys it is a good time to reassess the team needs. I am going to break it down position by position starting with the offense. The starters here are basically set, but the depth at a few positions is questionable.

Quarterback: The starter and backup positions are filled so the only remaining need here is a #3 developmental quarterback. I expect this position to be filled either in the late rounds of the draft or in rookie free agency immediately after the draft.

Running Back: With three starting caliber running backs on the roster it would appear that running back is not an area of need.

Fullback: Deon Anderson seems to have the fullback position locked up. I could see the Cowboys bringing in a rookie free agent to challenge Anderson, but I don't expect to see any changes between now and the season opener.

Tight End: Only one spot looks open with Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett entrenched at the top two spots here. Rodney Hannah has shown some flashes in preseason games in the past so he will probably be competing with either a late round draft pick or rookie free agent.

Wide Receiver: Roy Williams leads the most overanalyzed position on the roster. Miles Austin appears to be penciled in the #2 role and Patrick Crayton looks to be the slot receiver. Sam Hurd adds depth and a reliable backup in the even of an injury. The need here looks to be a pure speed receiver. Isaiah Stanback could fill that role but still seemed to have a long way to go last season in addition to having a chronic shoulder injury. I would expect to see a late round draft pick or a rookie free agent pickup here.

Offensive Tackle: Flozell Adams and Marc Columbo are locked in as the starters. There are backups on the current roster but their game experience is minimal so their ability is relatively unknown. Pat McQuistan has a few years with the team now so he will probably stick around. Doug Free is entering his third season in a backup role and will most likely be back again.

Guard: The lack of depth at guard was exposed last season when Kyle Kosier went down with a foot injury. At this point it appears that Kosier will be fully healthy for the start of training camp and Leonard Davis will obviously be starting at right guard. Montrae Holland showed promise last year in the few games that he played in before going down with an injury of his own. The big question mark here is Cory Proctor. Even with the tender offered to Proctor I would expect the Cowboys to look for another option at guard in the draft. Proctor is also the backup center and he may be better suited at center than he is at guard. I would not be shocked to see Proctor released or traded before training camp.

Center: Andre Gurode has developed into a very good starting center. His biggest weakness appears to be his occasional errant shotgun snap. The depth on the roster here is unknown. Proctor is listed as the primary backup but time will tell if the coaching staff is comfortable with Proctor filling in for Gurode in the event of an injury. I think the Cowboys tendered Proctor to cover their bases in the event that they cannot find another option during the draft.

7 comments:

Excellent article, however, I don't see the need for a speed Wr, I see the need for a possession type Wr. The cowboys will witness more blitzes than ever this upcoming year. TO leaving will hurt the Cowboys.

Proctor cost us too many games last year, and I cannot believe he was tendered any offers to stay with the team

I agree 100%. To the first anonymous guy...we already have a possession WR, his name is Patrick Crayton. We need a Desean Jackson type guy to beat the other team with our speed so that Roy Williams can get more good looks.

It is important to remember how much the special teams hurt the Cowboys last season. I believe the new attitude that Joe DeCamillus will instill in the special teams players will be the biggest difference fans will notice. The more you look at the roster the more it becomes apparant that the Cowboys need to draft a guy who can be the speed receiver/punt returner/kick returner. That won't be an easy guy to find ...Oh wait Im hearing the little fast WR guy from Buffalo Bills is available. WOW. That would be another WOW factor. We are missing any WOW from Special teams. We havent had any wow in a very long time.

I agree with you dude. Lets just make that trade for Roscoe Parrish. Heard he was up for sale. What a stud he would be on Punts, Kick offs and in the slot. This guy is super fast. Those smallish , fast guys are the hot ticket these days. The boys have no real speed threat other than Felix. Austin is fast but isnt a threat yet. Doesnt know how to use his speed for now. Parrish is a proven Special Teams Demon and would be a star in the slot. Imagine a team blitzing us and we could dump a pass of to him , Austin or Felix Jones. Either of them could go all the way. Oh I wish, I wish!!